Device to prevent repeated indication of weft exhaustion



Dec. 31, 1929. w, KING 1,74L3l6 DEVICE TO PREVENT REPEATED INDICATION 0F WEFT EXHAUSTION Filed July 16, 1928 51 [Wen/0r M/fi'mz 17A?? F 7 $119 W wwg ii hi i'i'E STATES PATENT WILLIAM H. KENG', OI CLINTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CRQMPIFON KNOXVLES LOOIILWORKS, OF W'ORCES'IER, MASSACHUSETTS, COEPSRATLZON Oh MASSACHUSETTS DEVICE TO PREVENT REPEATEID INDICATION 0F WEFT EXHAUSTION Application filed July 1G This invention relates to weft detectors of the type located in regularly moving transiferrer arms and it is the general object of the invention to provide means for preventing a repeated indication of weft exhaustion on transferring beats of the loom.

1n mechanisms of the type referred to the transferrer arm is given a regular movement toward the shuttle on each detecting beat of the loom and the weft detector is mounted on the transferrer and brought into contact with the yarn of the active shuttle by movement of the transferrer arm. There is ordinarily provided on the device an indicating plunger which is held in retained or non-indicating position, but at the time oi indication of weft exhaustion the plunger is moved outwardly to have indicating relationship with an indicator lever pivoted to the magazine. Upward movement of the tr'ansierrer arm with the plunger in indicating position initiates transfer through the indicator lever.

On a "following pick a full bobbin will be moved to transferring position and will be moved into the depleted shuttle by the transferrer arm as the latter descends. It is found that the detector is not always held against indicating movement by the incoming bobbin, due probably to the movement of the latter under the transferrer arm. As a result it not infrequently happens that the indicating plunger will be moved to indicating position on the transferring stroke with the result that on a subsequent pick the full bobbin Will be expelled from the shuttle. It is an important object of my present invention to prevent this undesirable result by mechanism operated at the time of transfer and movable to such a position as will hold the indicating plunger against establishing indicating relationship with the indicating lever.

At the time of transfer there are ordinarily involved two bobbins, the depleted bobbin in the active shuttle, and the full incoming bobbin to be moved from the magazine into the shuttle by the transterrer arm to expel the old bobbin. It is a further obj ect of my pres ent inventionto provide mechanism set into motion by one of these bobbins, that is, either the outgoing or the incoming bobbin, to pre- 1928. Serial No. 293,014.

vent an indication of weft exhaustion from being communicated to the replenishing mechanism on a transferring pick of the loom. As shown specifically herein I have elected to accomplish this result by motion derived from the incoming bobbin, but I do not wish necessarily to be limited to devices actuated by this particular bobbin.

The previously mentioned indicator lever has a depending arm which cooperates with the aforesaid plunger on indicating beats of the loom, but this lever is free to be moved across the path of the plunger when the latter is in position to be moved to indicating position so as to prevent movement of said plunger into indicating relationship with the indicating lever, and it is a further object of my present invention to act directly on an indicatin g lever to move the same to such a position as will prevent the indicating plunger from moving to indicating position.

Nith these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides .in the combinationand arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

, In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown two embodiments of my present invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation taken from the interior of the loom and looking toward a weft replenishing mechanism having my invention applied thereto with the parts in normal position on a detecting beat of the loom and with the transferrer arm down,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to a portion oi Fig. 1 but with the parts moved to a position where the indicating element on the transferrer arm cannot establish indicating movement on the part 01": the indicator lever even though the weft detector should operate to indicate weft exhaustion,

Fig. 3 is a detailed top plan View taken on line 33 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of mechanism for acting on the indicator lever.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 I have indicated a loom frame 10 as having a multicolor weft replenishing mechanism 11 applied thereto. A transferrer arm 12 is pivoted on a stud 13 secured to the weft replenishing mechanism or magazine and said transferrer arm is given a reciprocating movement in a vertical plane by a rod 14. which is caused to move downwardly on detecting beats of the loom and to move upwardly immediately after detecting by mechanism not shown.

A weft detector, the lower end of which is indicated at 15 in Fig. 1, is supported by the transferrer arm and is moved into contact with the yarn of the active shuttle S by mechanism not shown and forming no essential part of my present invention. A plunger 16 is slidably mounted on the transferrer arm 12- and is normally held in non-indicating or retained position so as to clear an indicating lever 17 as the transferrer arm moves upwardly on non-indicating detecting beats ofthe loom.

The indicating lever is pivotally mounted on the stud 18 fixed to the magazine frame and has a horizontal arm 19 which by means of a vertical rod 20 has operative connec tion with a color slide 21. The latter is movable longitudinally and angularly in bear ings 22 formed as part of the magazine frame and the color slide is movable longitudinally by mechanism not shown but acting in timed relation with the shuttle boxes not shown of the loom so thatsaid color slide has operative relationship with one or another of the vertical slides 23. Said slides are the means through which movement of the bobbins toward transfer position are controlled.

The indicating lever is provided with an upwardly and forwardly inclined surface 24 which is designed to cooperate with the plunger 16 when the latter is in indicating position. The transferrer arm is provided with a lug 25 which in its upward movement engages the stud 19 on the horizontal portion 19 of the indicator lever 17 on each nondetecting beat of the loom to rock the indicating lever in a counter-clockwise direction around the stud 18 to bring about cooperation between the color slide 21 and a raised vertical slide 23, should the latter correspond to the active shuttle.

In theoperation of the mechanism thus far described the transferrer arm moves up and down, having a complete cycle of operations every alternate pick of the loom, and when weft is exhausted the plunger will engage the surface 24 to produce rocking of the lever 17 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, the effect of this movement being to raise the vertical slide 23 which corresponds to the active shuttle. So long as sufficient weft is present in the active shuttle, however, the plunger moves upwardly with the transferrer arm without contact with the indicator lever.

The matter thus far described is substantially the same as that shown in prior patent to Ryon No. 1,372,316 to which reference may be had for a more complete disclosure of the construction and operation of the device. My present invention does not depend upon the particular manner in which the plunger 16 is moved into the indicating relationship with the indicating lever and said plunger may be moved to indicating position by mechanism such as that shown in patent to Chevrette N 0. 1,604,258.

In carrying the preferred form of my invention into effect I provide a bobbin support 40 secured to a stud 41 by set screw 42. Said stud extends through the magazine frame and is rotatable with respect thereto and has on the inner end thereof a hub 43 of an actuating lever 44. A torsion spring 45 is interposed between the magazine frame and the hub 43 and tends to hold the support 40 in raised position to support the incoming bobbin 1, movement of the support and actuating lever being limited by a stop 46. The lever 44 may be secured to the stud 41 by means of a set screw 42.

The r ar end of the actuating lever 44 is provided with a stud 47 which slides in a slot 48 formed on a rod head 49 adjustably secured to the rear end of a link 50. The link is pivotally connected as at 51 to the indicating lever 17 at a point as shown herein as rela tively close to the axis of the indicating lever.

In the operation of the preferred form of my invention the bobbin I will be supported in part by the yielding support 40 while the transferrer arm is in raised position. As the latter descends it will engage the bobbin and move the latter downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2 into the shuttle S, the exhausted bobbin E being thereby pushed out of the shuttle. Duringthe downward movement of the incoming bobbin I the support 40 is rocked in a clockwise direction around its axis as viewed in Fig. 1 to cause rocking movement of the actuator lever 44.

Under normal conditions there is a space indicated at 52 in the slot 48 in front of the stud 47, but the movement of the actuator lever is sufliciently large not only to move the stud 47 into engagement with the forward end of the slot 48, but also to move the link forwardly. The effect of this forward movement of the link is to move the indicating lever to the position shown in Fig. 2 where it will be out of indicating relationship with the plunger 16 should the latter by any improper action on the part of the weft de tector be in indicating position. In this way pivotal movement of the support 40 under action of the incoming bobbin is made use of to move the indicating lever to a position i where the plunger 16 is ineffective to cause rocking movement of the indicating lever. in such a direction as would initiate replenishment.

At the time of indication of weft exhaustion it will be necessary, of course, for the indicating lever to have a right hand oscillation as viewed in Fig. 1 to initiate replenishment, and it is for this reason that I have prdvided the space 52 in the slot 48, this space being of sufficient length to permit the vertical arm of the indicating lever to move to the left as viewed in Fig. 1 a sufficient amount to cause proper movement of the color slide 21 without bringing about stopping engagement between the red head 49 and the stud 47.

In the modified form of the invention as shown in liig. l I dispense with the link but make use of the lost motion feature which is characteristic of the preferred form. I re- .tain the support ll) and the stud 41 and also retain the spring 45 which acts to hold the support in raised position. Instead of the rearwardly extending actuator lever as shown in the modified form, however, I employ an upstanding arm which is secured to the stud carrying the bobbin support and is held by the spring against a stop 61 similar to stop 46. An adjustable screw ('52 is mounted on the upper end of the armGO and is positioned for direct engagement with the adjacent part of the indicator lever 17. The screw 62 is normally spaced from the depending portion of the lever 17 a sufiicient amount to permit the indicator lever to have its indicating motion without interference on the part of screw 62. The length of the arm 60 is so proportioned relatively to the motion of the support 40, however, that the screw 62 will move into engagement with the indicator lever at the time of transfer to move the lever to a position substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 2.

Although I have shown the indicator lever as being disposed to the right of the indicating plunger in Fig. 2, yet I do not wish to be limited to this arrangement of the lever inasmuch as it is suilicient if the cam face 24; of the indicating lever moves to the right sufficiently to prevent the plunger from having indicating relationship therewith.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided mechanism for moving the indicating lever to a position where it will not be acted upon by the indicating plunger 16 should the latter be in indicating position because of defective operation of the weft detector. It will further be seen that because of the leverage of the parts cooperating to move the indicating lever, sufficient motion derived from the support 40 to move the stud l7 a greater distance at the time of transfer than the red head 4-9 is moved by the indicater lever during normal indication of weft exhaustion, this relation permitting uninterrupted initiation of weft replenishment following a proper indication but giving the indicating lever enough motion to move it out of indicating relationship with respect to the plunger. It will further be seen that the device is set into operation by the incoming bobbin and operates therefore only on transfer-ring picks of the loom. While I have shown the connections from the bobbin support as having direct engagement with the indicator lever yet I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction inasmuch as the scope of my present invention is not limited to the indicator lever as a means for preventing an improperly placed plunger from establishing indicating relationship with the face 24:.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom, a regularly moving transferrer arm, an indicating member movable to initiate replenishment, means carried by the ransferrer arm movable to indicating position at weft exhaustion to move the member to initiate replenishment, and mechanism to prevent cooperation between the member and means when the latter is in indicating position on transferringbeats of the loom.

2. In a veft re lfiIllSlllIl loom a re u- P a 7 o larly moving transferrer arm, an indlcating lever, means carried by the transferrer arm movable to indlcatnw osltion at weft er:-

I n D I n haustion to oscillate the indlcatlng lever to initiate replenishment, and mechanism to prevent cooperation between the member and means when the latter is in indicating position on transferring beats of the loom.

8. In a weft replenishing mechanism having a regularly moving transferrer arm, an indicating plunger mounted on the arm and movable to indicating position at the time of weft exhaustion, an indicating lever to cooperate with the plunger to initiate replenishment, and means operative at the time of transfer to move the indicating lever out of operative indicating relationship with the plunger. 7

4. In a weft replenishing mechanism having a regularly moving transferrer arm, an indicating plunger mounted on the arm and movable to indicating position at the time of weft exhaustion, an indicating lever to have operative relationship with the plunger to initiate replenishment, a yieldable bobbin support to move at the time of transfer, and means movable by the support to render the indicating lever ineffective to have indicating relationship with the plunger when the support moves on transferring picks of the loom.

5. In a Weft replenishing mechanism having a regularly moving transferrer arm, an indicating member mounted on the arm and movable to indicating position at the time of weft exhaustion, an indicating lever to have operative relationship with the indicating member on the arm to initiate replenishment, a yieldable bobbin support to be moved at the time of transfer, and mechanism betweenv the support and the indicating lever including a lost motion device to render the indicating lever ineffective to have indicating relationship With the member on the arm When the support yields at the time of transfer.

6. In a Weft replenishing mechanism having a regularly moving transferrer arm, an indicating member mounted on the arm and movable to. indicating position. at the time of Weft exhaustion, an indicatinglever to have operative relationship With the member to initiate replenishment, a support for the bobbin to yield at the time of transfer, means operatively connected to the support and movable With the latter, and a device normally spaced from the means to move the indicating lever out of indicating relationship With the plunger when the support yields t the time of transfer.

7. In a Weft replenishing mechanism havinga reserve bobbin, means to transfer a bobbin, supporting means to hold a bobbin in transfer position, and mechanism actuated by the supporting means at the time of transfer to prevent a second transfer on an immediately following pick of the loom.

8. In a Weft replenishing loom having a shuttle provided With a supply of Weft and v a reserve Weft carrier, means to transfer the reserve Weft carrier into the shuttle, and mechanism actuated by the means to prevent a second transfer onan immediately following pick of the loom.

, 9. In a Weft replenishing mechanism. having a shuttle provided With a mass of Weft, a transferrer arm receiving re 'ular movements toward and from the shuttle on detecting and transferring beats of the loom, means operative When the transferrer arm moves 'from the shuttle to initiate replenishment when the supply of Weft is substantially exhausted, and mechanism to prevent themeans from having an initiating movement on transferring beats of the loom.

10. In a Weft replenishing loom having a shuttle With a depleted Weft carrier and a full Weft carrier in transfer position, a train of mechanism effective to cause transfer, means to set the train in operation at Weft depletion, transfer means included in the train to cause movement of both carriers at the time of transfer, and mechanism deriving motion from one of the bobbins to interrupt the movement of the train and prevent indication of transfer.

11. In a Weft replenishing loom, a regularly moving transferrer arm, an indicating member movable to initiate Weft replenish ment, a device on the transferrer arm. to be moved into indicating relationship with the member at substantial Weft exhaustion to cause said member to initiate Weft replenishment by movement derived from the trans ferrer arm, a bobbin support movable at the timeof transfer and connections between other movable With the support, said-elements normally being spaced by a predetermined distance, the movement of the element con nected to the indicating member toward the other element being no greater than the pre determined distance When the indicating member moves to initiate replenishment, and the movement of the other element connected to the support being greater than said predetermined di'stanceto cause said other element to engage the element connected to the indicating member and cause movement of the latter at the time of transfer to a position Where it can establish indicating relationship with the device.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

WILLIAM H. KING. 

